Fence



ttorney Patented Sept. 28, 1886.

W. KELLY.

FENCE WITNESSES (No Model.)

WVILLIAM KELLY, OF SARANAO, MICHIGAN.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 349,940, dated September 28, 1886.

Application filed April 26, 1886.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LWILLIAM KELLY, of Saranac, in the county of Ionia and State of Michigan,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fences; and I do hereby declare that the followingisafull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, whichform part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion o my improved fence. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a section showing the supporting-posts. Fig. 4 is a sectional detail of the latching device.

This invention relates to improvements in fences, the object being to construct a portable fence that can be easily and rapidly placed in position and removed therefrom.

A further object is to construct the. fence in such manner that a gateway can be quickly formed between any two adjacent fence-posts, the sections between said posts constituting the gates therefor.

The invention consists in the construction and novel arrangement of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the I drawings, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, A designates the posts, and B the fence-sections be- .tween the same, each of which might vary considerably in their minor details of construction, the essential features of their connections remaining the same. The posts A are equidistant, made preferably of metal, and have their lower ends, a, somewhat pointed or beveled, the upper ends, a, being looped or handled for easy removal from their seats.

0 C are beams firmly secured to the surface of the earth transverse to the fence, and provided with the recesses c, to serve as seats for the pointed ends a of the fence-posts, which, as usually constructed, are metal rods of sufficient thickness and stiffness to support the intermediate sections.

D D are brace-bars for posts A, and are made, preferably, of metal rods, each having a coil at the center, forming a loop or opening, d, through which its corresponding post passes, and its ends on each side of the loop being bent downward at an angle, forming the in- Serial No. 20020-1. (No model.)

clined arms d d, the lower ends of which pass through openings d in the beams O and into the ground beneath. The braces D, when in position, sustain the weight of the fence-sections vertically and prevent the fence-posts bending sidewise with the weight of the fencesections. The braces are made of sufficient height to support the posts centrally.

Each of the fence-sections B is preferably composed of a central longitudinal rail, b, slotted near its ends, and two vertical bars, I) b, which pass through the slots in rail 1), and are suitably secured therein, the rails and bars thus forming skeleton H-shaped sections. The bars I) b may have any desired number of horizontal wires or strips E, uniting them above and below the rail 1), and may have diagonal brace wires or rods secured to them, the latter preferably being passed centrally through the rail I), as shown. The ends a m of each rail I) extend a short distance outside of bars I), and have openings through them for the passage of the fence posts or rods A. The adjoining ends so and x of the rails b of any two adjoining fence-sections, 13, rest upon the loop of a brace, D, the end 00 of one section overlapping the end 00 of the other. To present a more finished appearance, the overlap ping ends of rails b of the sections are oppositely cut away or rabbeted, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the upper and lower surfaces of their respective rails are flush.

F F are metal loops secured to the upper outer edges of bars I), and F F are similar loops secured to the lower outer edges of the bars.

The manner of putting the fence together is as follows: The braces D and their beams 0 being suitably fixed at the required intervals, (which equal the distance between the openings in rails b of the fence-sections,) the latter are placed in position, being supported upon the loops of the braces by the ends as and w of their rails 12. The posts A are then put in place by first passing their lower ends through the adjoining loops F of sections 13, which overlap each other, as shown, then through the openings in ends 00 m of rails I), through the loop of brace D, then through the lower loops, F, and into the recess 0 in its block 0, thus securely and quickly uniting the latching device, engaging a proper keeper,

y, on the end a." of the adjacent rail 12. Upon removing any post A, the ends of the sections B which it secured are free, and the sections can then be used as gates, the loops F F and ends of rails b, which secure their other ends in position, serving as hinges for them to swing upon. If it is desired to use but one section as a gate, after the post A is removed, as before described, one of the sections B is swung outward. The post A is then replaced by passing its end through the loops and opening of the free end of the other section,which is there= by securely held, while the first section can be used as a gate. The latching device y can then be used to close the gate.

By removing all the posts, which can be quickly done, the fence can be readily packedfor transportation.

It is obvious that any section of fence may be used as a gate, and that when it is desired to plow adjoining fields the sections may be opened to allow the passage of the plow, thus allowing all the space between the posts to be cultivated.

Having described my invent-ion, I claim-'- 1. In a portable fence, the combination of bars 0, each having a central opening, a, and brace-bars D,having loops d and arms d,feneesections B,composed of horizontal supportingrail b, having extended perforated ends, and vertical bars b, secured to rail bnear its ends, and provided with loops secured to their upper and lower edges, and suitable posts or rods passing through the loops of the fence-sections and brace-bars, all constructed and adapted to operate substantially as and for the purpose specified. y

2. The combination of the posts A A, having the pointed lower ends, a, and the looped or handled upper ends, a, the brace-bars D, having the inclined arms d and openings d in their coiled centers, and the bed-beams 0, each having the recess 0 and openings at, with the fence-sections B, each composed of the end rails, b, and central rail, b, having the extended rabbeted and perforated ends at w, and provided with the loops F F, all constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purpose specified. v

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

, WILLIAM KELLY. Witnesses:

' A. B. PARDU,

E. P. GIFFORD. 

